Kane's story

Football-mad Kane

Kane is 6 and has chronic granulomatous disorder or CGD.  It’s a genetic disorder he inherited from his mum.

His mum, grandmother and great grand-mother all carry the faulty gene which causes the condition and, at the moment, there isn’t a cure for it.

When he was a baby, Kane constantly had diarrhoea and he would often bring his feeds back up.  Children with CGD can’t fight off certain infections because the gene which tells them how to produce germ-fighting white blood cells doesn’t work as it should.

Bacterial and fungal conditions are especially dangerous for Kane and they can cause painful swellings under his skin and inside his body.

Kane loves football but he bruises very easily so he has to be careful.  He can’t play in leaves or the bark chippings in the local playground because they carry bacteria that could make him seriously ill.

CGD is a life threatening condition.  Kane’s parents have learned how to manage it with care, medication and the help and support of the CGD Research Trust.